In this Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Dmitri Dawkins and Nerissa Golden, the panel discusses: tech enablement and what it means to run a tech-enabled business; and the importance of telling our story in preparation for growing a business and attracting investors.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes, Google Play Music and on Stitcher!

Thanks to the plethora of business books and course available, many businesses know that it is important to ensure that the foundation of the business, such as with respect to strategy, people and processes, remain relevant and appropriate to that business. Moreover, focussing on just those things is easily a full-time job for a team of people. However, what may not be fully appreciated is that  in addition to strategy, people and processes, there are several other critical aspects that also require attention.

In this our first Community Chat of 2020, we explore two elements that are often overlooked, but can really make-or-break a business in this increasingly global and competitive environment. However, let’s first introduce our Community Chat guests and the topics they submitted:

Dmitri Dawkins

Dmitri Dawkins, who is based in Jamaica, is the Entrepreneurship Programme Director of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean, which is a business accelerator that provides training, governance and investment readiness preparation to entrepreneurs. Dmitri is also an entrepreneur and investor. His background includes a mix of technical and business development experience, and he has worked with industry associations to promote technology adoption and business development across the Caribbean region.

In light of the importance of businesses fully leveraging technology, Dmitri was eager for us to discuss ‘technology enablement’, which essentially means the use of technology tools to produce an outcome. Many Caribbean businesses might be of the view that since they have email addresses, use instant messaging, have a website or use social media, that they are tech-enabled; but there is a lot more they could and should be doing to be truly tech-enabled. Hence, Dmitri’s topic was Tech enablement and what it means to run a tech-enabled business.

Nerissa Golden

Our second guest panellist is Nerissa Golden, the CEO of Goldenmedia, the Managing Editor of Discover Montserrat and the Founder of Maverick Endeavours, and she is based in Montserrat. Nerissa is a former journalist and international speaker, and is the author of seven books, including The Making of a Caribbeanpreneur: Strategies for Overcoming Fear and Building Wealth and Like. Follow. Lead. – Mastering Social Media for Small Business. Nerissa has over 25 years’ experience in traditional and new media. She develops communication strategies to help her clients leverage media and tell stories that influence change.

Consistent with her area focus, but based on her experiences with a broad range of clients, including tech entrepreneurs, Nerissa had observed that when trying to attract new customers or even new investors, companies tend to focus almost exclusively on the mechanics of business, such as building a good team, having a robust strategy and solid metrics, to name a few. However, frequently, what is missing is the human element: a human connection. Hence, instead of just promoting the business and its products/services in what could be considered an impersonal manner, increasingly, consumers and prospective investors can to connect with the people behind the business, which in turn is influencing buying and investment decisions.

To that end, Nerissa proposed that we discuss, The importance of telling our story in preparation for growing a business and attracting investors. Thanks to her experience as a Communications Strategist, and Dmitri’s in business accelerator, this was an interesting and worthwhile discussion.

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits:  Gerd Altmann (Pixabay);  D Dawkins;  N Golden

Music credit:  Ray Holman

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